Thread: Is this for me?
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Old Sun, Dec-21-14, 05:16
TauntonGir TauntonGir is offline
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Posts: 18
 
Plan: Low Carb
Stats: 252/252/168 Female 5 foot 6 inches
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: South West
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Thank you so much for this comprehensive response. I don't feel overwhelmed at all, I feel positively encouraged!

I shall read again in more depth later, except to say that I am not sure I could at this stage cope with just one meal per day but that is something I would consider later. I am going to look into the books that you refer to as well. Having low blood sugar really worries me as i feel I am just on the edge of fainting and obviously that is a matter for concern.

When young I would go on a diet and lose weight - now at 55 it's not going the way it used to, understandably I guess.

Carbohydrate addict here too - through and through. My diet consisted almost exclusive of poor carbohydrates up until I started this programme.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Benay
These are some of my thoughts in response to your post:

1. Steady weight loss is not part of any weight loss plan. Weight loss is not like puncturing a balloon. It takes time, commitment, constant monitoring, and patience. We lose weight in fits and starts and sometimes not at all for weeks. Human bodies are not mechanical machines where you insert your ATM card and get your results. We are biological entities that factor in a lot of variables based on a need for survival.

2. Fatigue and even depression can come from changing a dietary pattern to a low carb plan. The "New Atkins for a New You" by Westman, Volek and Phinney (which I highly recommend) discusses what is happening in your body that causes this phenomena, how long it is likely to last and what you can do about it. Basically they say low carb dieting is a diuretic so you are losing fluids as well vital nutrients (minerals). You need to replace those fluids and electrolytes. They recommend a cup of bouillon. See if that helps.

3. Eating one meal a day will probably not make blood sugar go up. If you suffer from low blood sugar, eating more frequently might raise it. Blood sugar goes up after eating and goes down with fasting so eating one meal a day does not sound like a treatment for low blood sugar (which may affect fatigue levels).

4. There is only 1 treatment for an addiction -- avoidance. If you feel/believe that you are addicted to carbohydrates, stop eating them. Atkins gives you an excellent plan for self discovery of which carbohydrates are the ones you have the most difficulty with. (See the Westman et al book mentioned above.) No drug can do this for you. Exercise cannot help you. Eating carbs will not help. Atkins can help. It is up to you to decide to avoid the foods you are addicted to.

Discouragement is part of the process. Weight loss is not a straight line on the chart. If you weigh and chart every day, you will see unexplainable ups and downs. Even if you weigh one a week, you will still see ups and downs.

Think about what it takes to be a competitive athlete. How long does it take? How often would you have to practice? Would every day be a growth day, or would there be set-back days or weeks. Would you quit before achieving your goal because you couldn't attain it fast enough? Being a weight loser requires the same kind of persistence, patience, and time. Having a good coach helps. (I again recommend the Westman et all book as a coach or guide. They offer a lot of tips based upon their research and clinical practice.)

I hope I have not overwhelmed you with these stray thoughts. It took me almost a year to lose 80 pounds on low carb with a lot of frustration along the way at the incredibly slow (and a lot of no) progress. Having regained 30 of them back from slipshod choices, I am back at the slow grind of re-losing them. As a carb addict myself, the only treatment (not cure) for me is avoidance. And the treatment is lifelong as there is no cure for an addiction. Sigh.
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